Welcome to the Piano World Piano ForumsOver 2 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers
(it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

I've been plugging away with the Alfred Adult All In One. To help with my learning, I decided to purchase the audio and midi disks. The audio is a couple of CDs. But...

The MIDI disk is a FLOPPY DISK!!! I have seven computers - NONE of them have a floppy disk. Most computers don't come with a floppy any more. And I haven't seen software distributed on a floppy disk in the last decade! It is beyond stupid that any company would distribute files that can't be loaded to the vast majority of modern computers! What's worse that NO WHERE in their product description do they explain that it's distributed on a FLOPPY!

Edit: This was originally aimed at Alfred. However, one poster below pointed out that the primary fault lies with the retailer - in this case Sheet Music Plus. Their website does not describe the media.

Some blame still lies with Alfred. From their product web page (http://www.alfred.com/Products/Alfreds-B...1--00-5725.aspx), the media description is the same "General MIDI Disk". I searched their site and found nothing about what that means. So the customer has no idea that they are buying unusable media.

There are a lot of Alfred-lovers in this forum, so I doubt if what I write will have any effect on you. Each to his/her own, but they will never see my money again.

Of course, I will be very happy to share my "wonderful" product experience with anyone who will listen.

You are probably better off looking for the item you are interested in on their website. Then get the ISBN number. It is fairly categorized so you can make sure you are getting what you want. Additionally, some of the book covers have an icon representing the digital content media format.

I've been plugging away with the Alfred Adult All In One. To help with my learning, I decided to purchase the audio and midi disks. The audio is a couple of CDs. But...

The MIDI disk is a FLOPPY DISK!!! I have seven computers - NONE of them have a floppy disk. Most computers don't come with a floppy any more. And I haven't seen software distributed on a floppy disk in the last decade! It is beyond stupid that any company would distribute files that can't be loaded to the vast majority of modern computers! What's worse that NO WHERE in their product description do they explain that it's distributed on a FLOPPY!

There are a lot of Alfred-lovers in this forum, so I doubt if what I write will have any effect on you. Each to his/her own, but they will never see my money again.

Of course, I will be very happy to share my "wonderful" product experience with anyone who will listen.

Dan.

Have you contacted them and asked for them to mail you a CD with those files or at least an electronic copy via email? You know, give them a chance to fix the problem before going online to complain.

"...There are a lot of Alfred-lovers in this forum, so I doubt if what I write will have any effect on you. Each to his/her own, but they will never see my money again. .."

Dan Clark, I congratulate you on your perseverance with your piano studies--- I know it isn't easy to keep it going.

It happens, with print music editions, that many are not such hot sellers that every copy flies off the shelves soon after publication. In fact, I've seen cases where one music store will buy out the stock of another which has gone out of business, and the individual copies can be quite old. They're not milk; they don't go sour within a few days, so they last and last in stock.

So you have acquired a technological antique. At the time floppy disks were first current, the CD had not been invented nor anticipated--- even the hard drive was an uncommon and unreliable device. So their day lasted for some 20 years or better.

I realize it's easy to fire off an angry post to a website (also not invented in the heyday of the floppy disc, by the way), but Alfred is a good publishing house which, I don't doubt, would prefer to make a customer happy--- and after all, what you are asking for is quite reasonable. Why don't you send your e-mail request to them? I don't see that we are in a position to do anything for you. The title you mentioned is still in print, and Alfred does use CD's these days; I like what they've done with packaging CD's with performance editions, for just the same reason you want one for the book you have--- the mind (mine, anyway) puts it together better if I can both see and hear and play.

In general, a civil tone evokes a more helpful response--- especially when firing your first round. Save the heavy artillery and the phalanxes of bombers until you need them. Sometimes the enemy surrenders the fort without the invader firing a single shot, or losing a single man.

I would imagine the external USB floppy reader would cost as much as the whole book did in the first place, and you would probably use it only this once. Ingenious solution for the techie, though.

I had a similar experience recently, where I ordered an accompaniment / demo for a church cantata, and they sent a - wait for it - a cassette tape. Really? I have no way of playing a tape, and even less interest in making the attempt. (It has been all CDs or digital downloads with all of the publishers I've dealt with for a number of years - replacing the previous all cassette tape technology).

Before long, we will be complaining that we were sent a product on a CD, technology long replaced by neural implant, or whatever!

And it has a copyright date of 1995. I have no idea about the quality of these files.

I guess they got me on this one. Nothing like making a buck at the expense of the customer.

I'm a normal person - I make mistakes all the time. It irritates when I make a mistake. However, I despise vendors that misstate or fail to clearly state what the customer is getting.

So why don't I send it back? Because the time and hassle of calling the vendor, getting an RMA, packing it up, and shipping it back is not cost-effective. For me, it's cheaper to throw that garbage in the trash.

"...There are a lot of Alfred-lovers in this forum, so I doubt if what I write will have any effect on you. Each to his/her own, but they will never see my money again. .."

Dan Clark, I congratulate you on your perseverance with your piano studies--- I know it isn't easy to keep it going.

It happens, with print music editions, that many are not such hot sellers that every copy flies off the shelves soon after publication. In fact, I've seen cases where one music store will buy out the stock of another which has gone out of business, and the individual copies can be quite old. They're not milk; they don't go sour within a few days, so they last and last in stock.

So you have acquired a technological antique. At the time floppy disks were first current, the CD had not been invented nor anticipated--- even the hard drive was an uncommon and unreliable device. So their day lasted for some 20 years or better.

I realize it's easy to fire off an angry post to a website (also not invented in the heyday of the floppy disc, by the way), but Alfred is a good publishing house which, I don't doubt, would prefer to make a customer happy--- and after all, what you are asking for is quite reasonable. Why don't you send your e-mail request to them? I don't see that we are in a position to do anything for you. The title you mentioned is still in print, and Alfred does use CD's these days; I like what they've done with packaging CD's with performance editions, for just the same reason you want one for the book you have--- the mind (mine, anyway) puts it together better if I can both see and hear and play.

In general, a civil tone evokes a more helpful response--- especially when firing your first round. Save the heavy artillery and the phalanxes of bombers until you need them. Sometimes the enemy surrenders the fort without the invader firing a single shot, or losing a single man.

I would imagine the external USB floppy reader would cost as much as the whole book did in the first place, and you would probably use it only this once. Ingenious solution for the techie, though.

Clef,

In general, I agree with your points. That said, they knowingly sent out this thing. I'm not about waste my time dealing with an organization like that. And I'm not going to throw good money down a toilet getting a one-time-use floppy reader just so I can read that thing.

The other stuff associated music came on a CD, which was fine. Supposedly it lines up the the book. Unfortunately, this makes me question all of it - book, cd, midi files.

I had a similar experience recently, where I ordered an accompaniment / demo for a church cantata, and they sent a - wait for it - a cassette tape. Really? I have no way of playing a tape, and even less interest in making the attempt. (It has been all CDs or digital downloads with all of the publishers I've dealt with for a number of years - replacing the previous all cassette tape technology).

Before long, we will be complaining that we were sent a product on a CD, technology long replaced by neural implant, or whatever!

This whole episode makes me think that Alfred is a pretty backward company. Selling it as a digital download would would be much more cost effective for them and would keep customers happy. This is just nuts.

And it has a copyright date of 1995. I have no idea about the quality of these files.

I guess they got me on this one. Nothing like making a buck at the expense of the customer.

I'm a normal person - I make mistakes all the time. It irritates when I make a mistake. However, I despise vendors that misstate or fail to clearly state what the customer is getting.

So why don't I send it back? Because the time and hassle of calling the vendor, getting an RMA, packing it up, and shipping it back is not cost-effective. For me, it's cheaper to throw that garbage in the trash.

Dan.

But the question remains; did you ask the publisher to fix it for you or was the first thing on your mind to come here to rant and warn us all? It sounds like you haven't even tried.

By the way, disk = magnetic media, disc = optical media.It's not like they deliberately misled you. The book was written and the notes prepared in 1995 and left as is. I don't see the problem. I don't expect a publisher to go back to change notes and descriptions (and issue notices to retailers) on near 17 year old books.

And it has a copyright date of 1995. I have no idea about the quality of these files.

I guess they got me on this one. Nothing like making a buck at the expense of the customer.

I'm a normal person - I make mistakes all the time. It irritates when I make a mistake. However, I despise vendors that misstate or fail to clearly state what the customer is getting.

So why don't I send it back? Because the time and hassle of calling the vendor, getting an RMA, packing it up, and shipping it back is not cost-effective. For me, it's cheaper to throw that garbage in the trash.

Dan.

But the question remains; did you ask the publisher to fix it for you or was the first thing on your mind to come here to rant and warn us all? It sounds like you haven't even tried.

By the way, disk = magnetic media, disc = optical media.It's not like they deliberately misled you. The book was written and the notes prepared in 1995 and left as is. I don't see the problem. I don't expect a publisher to go back to change notes and descriptions (and issue notices to retailers) on near 17 year old books.

I have not and will not deal with a company like this. I've had my say. If you and others want to buy Alfred's stuff, that's your choice. I choose not to.

I have not and will not deal with a company like this. I've had my say. If you and others want to buy Alfred's stuff, that's your choice. I choose not to.

Dan.

You are simply being unreasonable. It might just be for the cost and time of one single telephone call that this issue could be sorted out. It is clear you don't want to give anyone the opportunity of fixing this, you'd rather just rant angrily about it on a public forum. How immature. Go away until you have something more constructive to say.

The fundamental problem is that neither Albert nor Sheet Music Plus care enough about their customers to clearly define what they are selling. Getting my money back doesn't solve the problem - deceptive marketing practices.

I am happy to spend productive time learning the piano. I will NOT spend non-productive time hassling with companies that use deceptive marketing practices.

Alfred is partly responsible. That said, I changed the title in my original post to focus on Sheet Music Plus.

In any case, searching for an ISBN is NOT reasonable when both the publisher and the retailer provide the exact same misleading information. No where on either site do they explain that "MIDI Disk" means "Floppy Disk".

Given that a floppy disk is an antique media that is not usable on virtually all current computers, IMO their lack of clarity is a marketing technique to get rid of old, unusable inventory.

Most people will either not use the media, or go through the hassle and expense of loading it. A few will go through the hassle of returning it. Almost no one will call them out for this. I.e. they keep getting away with this stunt.

I choose to call them out and express my displeasure. You can choose other options.

Dan, even an HD (High Density, not Definition! ) Floppy holds no more than 2.2 or so MBs, so that could fit in an e-mail without breaking anyone's sweat. If you call them, they will probably send you a mail with the contents of the Floppy Disk.

The music store I buy from--- and usually order through--- gladly takes care of any problems that may happen with the merchandise. I can only think of one: a (pretty stout) collection of a composer's works had a number of pages in the center which didn't print properly. I overlooked the problem in the store, but I returned it and they reordered, and that was that.

I have less experience with http://sheetmusicplus.com , but I believe they're reputable and will accept returns. Anyway, I hope you have better luck with the Faber. They have some very nice collections for somewhat more advanced students, so you have some good stuff to look forward to.

Dan, even an HD (High Density, not Definition! ) Floppy holds no more than 2.2 or so MBs, so that could fit in an e-mail without breaking anyone's sweat. If you call them, they will probably send you a mail with the contents of the Floppy Disk.

Rafa.

Rafa,

You are 100% correct. From a business perspective, it's completely nuts to send a floppy disk to someone. They could reduce the price by at least 1/3 and increase profit. So why don't they do it?